We know exactly where Superman’s indestructibility comes from, or how mild-mannerd Bruce Banner turned into a giant green rage monster. But unlike their more mainstream counterparts, Josh Trank‘s Chronicle didn’t spend a whole lot of time dwelling on how, exactly, the boys got their powers. The film seemed far less interested in the sci-fi mechanics of their abilities than in what the guys did with them once they had them.

All of which is a rambly way to say that it never really even occurred to me to wonder just what happened to those kids that fateful night. But if you’re curious, screenwriter Max Landis does have an explanation, and you can read it after the jump — along with a little more information about his Chronicle sequel that never was. (Spoilers follow.)

Please Recommend /Film on Facebook

The first Chronicle did well enough that Fox quickly snapped screenwriter Max Landis back up to pen a sequel. But then word spread that the studio was displeased with Landis’ take, and several months later Landis confirmed that he’d been taken off the film.

Part of the problem had been that Fox wanted Chronicle 2 to be more of the same, while Landis had something completely new and different in mind. Now he’s offered some juicy details on what, exactly, that something was — along with an admission that Fox may have been right to drop his original idea. Hit the jump to read his comments.

Chronicle turned out to be a surprise smash hit, making $126 million worldwide — not bad at all when the film only cost $12 million to begin with. A sequel seemed like the obvious next step, and indeed Fox has one in the works. The bad news, however, is that it’s moving forward without its original director or writer.

Max Landis, who scripted the first film, was hired to write the sequel all the way back in March 2012, just a few weeks after Chronicle opened. But he’s hit some trouble along the way, and now he reveals he’s off the project entirely. Hit the jump to read his comments.

Chronicle was a nice little surprise early this year, and the film is hitting Blu-ray and DVD this week. I’d recommend checking out Josh Trank‘s found-footage ‘kids with powers’ movie, as it is one of the better superhero films out there, packed with the spirit of early Marvel comics and Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, to boot. Plus, it has a good performance from Dane DeHaan as a kid who can’t quite handle his new power.

One of the bonus clips on the Blu-ray is a bit of test footage introduced by Trank. The director explains how Fox head honcho Tom Rothman wanted a test scene from the movie as a proof of concept, and goes on to show the scene interspersed with some commentary on how the effects were done. It’s a good compliment to an earlier video showing the origin of the film’s effects. Read More »

Even before Chronicle became a hit for Fox, rumors proliferated that the studio was looking to director Josh Trank to reboot The Fantastic Four. Trank denied knowing anything about it, and has mostly brushed aside questions of his involvement with the stalled superhero team in the months since.

But at CinemaCon, Fox CEO Tom Rothman said that Trank is indeed developing a new take on the Fantastic Four. Whether or not he’ll direct the film, however, is still open to question. Read More »

Why was Shia LaBeouf at Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo last weekend? What are Robert Downey Jr. and Nathan Fillion doing together? Which Marvel movie credit scene almost ruined The Avengers? How does Christopher Nolan describe the IMAX scenes in The Dark Knight Rises? Did Joss Whedon reveal how much deleted footage would be on The Avengers Blu-ray? Want to watch a featurette of all the global fan screening of Marvel’s film? Which Avenger is now getting his own comic? Read about all this and more in today’s Superhero Bits. Read More »

Have you ever wondered how they accomplished some of the effects in Josh Trank‘s Chronicle? Hit the jump to watch two videos — one which takes us behind the scenes to reveal how the flying sequences were created, and a second video which was fan-made which shows how you can recreate some of the effects at home.

Chronicle, the ‘teens with powers’ movie that hit two weeks ago, almost instantly established director Josh Trank and screenwriter Max Landis as talents to watch. Trank has a deal with Fox, and is in the midst of developing new projects, even as rumors fly that the studio has an eye on him to reboot the Fantastic Four. Trank has denied that he knows anything about that, and continues to hold that position, which leads to the obvious question: what’s next?

According to the most commonly-used map that charts a path for this particular scenario, Chronicle 2 would be next. But Trank doesn’t seem to be very interested in a sequel to his debut feature. Instead, he’s developing other original projects at Fox. Read More »

This week, David, Devindra, and Adam chat about the perils of marathoning Mad Men, dissect the pleasures of marathoning Skins, lament the nonsense of Ultraviolet, and assess this year’s Super Bowl ads.

You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Join us for our next live broadcast at 10 PM EST / 7 PM PST at slashfilm.com/live.